Home » Posts tagged "occult horror" (Page 3)

Graphic Novel Review: Pretty Deadly Volume 3: The Rat by Kelly Sue DeConnick, art by Emma Rios

Cover art for Pretty Deadly volume 3: The Rat

Pretty Deadly Volume 3: The Rat by Kelly Sue DeConnick, art by Emma Rios

Image Comics, 2020

ISBN-13: 9781534315198

Available: Kindle, paperback

Buy:  Bookshop.org  |  Amazon.com

 

 

DeConnick and Rios’ Pretty Deadly Volume 3 : The Rat launches us forward in time from World War I to 1930s Hollywood. The late Sara Fields’ granddaughter Clara has been found murdered. Her Uncle Frank, known as “Conjure-Man” to some, is desperate to find her killer. He tracks her path through Los Angeles, where the Reapers of Hunger, Thirst, and Obsession have each attempted to lure Clara to their way of life in some way. Frank calls out, loud enough for the Reaper of Vengeance to hear his pleas to help him find out what happened to Clara. Deathface Ginny appears to aid her old acquaintance.

 

As per volumes 1 and 2, volume 3 presents a compelling story with familiar characters, and a few new ones. I could read an entire series on Deathface Ginny alone. Getting a few more glimpses of the Immortal Reapers is interesting as well. I wish we had more of them. Art by Emma Rios and colours by Jordie Bellaire are, as usual, well rendered. I’m hoping there will be more Pretty Deadly in the future by this team, especially knowing that Image released Pretty Deadly: The Shrike Vault Editionon April 30, 2024.

 

The long gap in years between  the publication of volumes 2 and 3 was unfortunate. Luckily, I was able to access all volumes through interlibrary loan to reread the first two and finally read the third.

 

Pretty Deadly Volume 3: The Rat collects issues 1-5. At the end of the trade paperback is a collected discussion guide created by Dr. Jeremy Stoll, which makes this a book that could find use in the classroom. Recommended.

 

 

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on July 10, 2024 by , Reply

Book Review: Hail Santa! by John McNee

Cover art for Hail Santa! by John McNee

Hail Santa!, by John McNee

Blood Bound Books, 2024

ISBN: 9781940250601

Availabie: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy:  Amazon.com

 

 

If you want a good holiday-themed horror story that isn’t just an excuse to have a serial killer running around (such as the films Silent Night, Deadly Night, or Black Christmas), then Hail Santa! is for you.   It’s bloody good fun (pun intended) that does a nice job combining some of the classic aspects of demon mythology with the story of Santa Claus, while managing to smash plenty of humans into pulp jelly throughout the story.  Horror fans and gorehounds alike will love this one.

 

St. Nicholas is a small, dying town in the northern Canadian woods that is given a new lease on life when a Chinese conglomerate buys up the whole town, with the plan of turning it into an upscale ski resort for the seriously wealthy skiers of the world.  However, the land was never really the town’s to sell: it’s the property of Saint Nicholas, due to a deal he (or it) made with the town’s founders centuries before, and, he isn’t happy with the idea of his town being turned into a playground for rich schussboomers.  The throttle opens up quickly on this story, as Saint Nicholas and his army of the town’s children slash and bite anything in their way, while a small and very eclectic group of adults try to stop them and save the town.

 

This isn’t just a paint-by-numbers splat-fest: there’s more under the hood when it comes to the plot.  It’s the use of demon myths that really makes the plot intriguing, such as the fact that their names wield genuine power, and that worship of them is truly important- it’s a matter of survival.  Saint Nicholas isn’t doing all this just because he’s angry: he has legitimate reasons for wreaking havoc on the town.  That all ties into what the survivors learn in their attempts to stop him, and it’s done well.  They get little clues along the way, but it takes some thinking for them to come up with a targeted plan to stop him.  It’s enough to keep the reader thinking along with the characters. You’ll have fun trying to imagine what would possibly work against the power Saint Nicholas wields.

 

The heroes in this are an extremely likable bunch.. There’s the Chinese lady responsible for the whole town project, a rookie teacher, an elderly janitor, and a couple of drunken contractors, among others.  It’s a good mix, as they have varied strengths and weaknesses, due to their backgrounds.  But, therein lies their power, as it gives them a variety of perspectives, which they need to survive, and everybody plays a vital part.  Readers will like and relate to at least some of them, and it does hurt when some of them get killed off… this isn’t an “all the good guys survive and prosper” story.  There’s also a great twist to the end of the story that takes it in a new direction: it’s much better than any standard stock ending.

 

Bottom line:  this is the perfect antidote for holiday cheer.  Recommended.

 

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

 

Posted on April 22, 2024 by , Reply

Book Review: Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi

Cover art for Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi

Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi.

Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2022

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593309032

Available:: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook

Buy:  Bookshop.org  |  Amazon.com

 

 

Bitter is a prequel to Pet. In Pet, Jam accidentally brings a monstrous angel created by her artist mother through a gate to our world, opened by her bleeding on the image. In Bitter, we learn that it isn’t the first time Jam’s mother brought an angel through.

 

The city of Lucille is filled with protests turned violent. Bitter, who grew up in foster homes where she felt unsafe, has found refuge in Eucalyptus, a residential school for artistic teens run by Miss Virtue . She avoids the protests, focusing on her art, believing there’s no hope for change. She meets Aloe, a sound artist training to be a street medic to help the Assatta, grassroots revolutionaries, and he starts giving her hope. I liked the idea that everyone can contribute in their own way, even if they aren’t on the front lines.

 

After a particularly violent protest, Bitter, who can make her art come to life briefly with blood, creates a monstrous creature and brings it to life in hopes of ending the violence. Unfortunately, the intention he sensed in her was anger, so instead of helping her stop it, he becomes an angel of Vengeance, a hunter of monsters (in this case billionaires and politicians) who wants to kill or burn away evil. When Bitter refuses to help, he convinces members of Assata to hunt with him, but despite their anger, none of them are ready for the brutal, impersonal violence of the angel.

 

Bitter realizes she can force him back through the gate, but the damage is done, with both innocent and not-so-innocent people dead. Bitter and the Assatta cover up the angel involvement and are able to use the incident to gain concessions and change the system to make it more equitable, the beginnings of the mostly utopian world that exists at the beginning of Pet.

 

Emezi wrote Bitter during the pandemic and watched their fiction come far too close to reality. They were becoming progressively more disabled while it was written: they dictated it to a friend over Zoom.

 

Bitter is an angrier book than Pet, and the characters are older teens: while Pet works as a middle grade book and almost a fairytale, Bitter is definitely YA. Highly recommended.

 

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

Posted on March 29, 2024 by , Reply
First « 12345 » Last